interpreted the words to teach judges not to treat a litigant as a stranger, even if the litigant was the judge's enemy. Resh Lakish interpreted the words "you shall hear the small and the great alike" in to teach that a judge must treat a lawsuit involving the smallest coin in circulation ("a mere perutah") as of the same importance as one involving 2 million times the value ("a hundred mina"). And the Gemara deduced from this rule that a judge must hear cases in the order that they were brought, even if a case involving a lesser value was brought first. Rabbi Hanan read the words "you shall not be afraid of . . . any man" in to teach judges not to withhold any arguments out of deference to the powerful. Resh Lakish (or others say Rabbi Judah ben Lakish or Rabbi Joshua ben Lakish) read the words "you shall not be afraid of the face of any man" in to teach that once a judge has heard a case and knows in whose favor judgment inclines, the judge cannot withdraw from the case, even if the judge must rule against the more powerful litigant. But before a judge has heard a case, or even after so long as the judge does not yet know in whose favor judgment inclines, the judge may withdraw from the case to avoid having to rule against the more powerful litigant and suffer harassment from that litigant. Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean deduced from the words "the judgment is God's" in that once litigants have brought a case to court, a judge must not arbitrate a settlement, for a judge who arbitrates sins by deviating from the requirements of God's Torah; rather, the judge must "let the law cut through the mountain" (and thus even the most difficult case). Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Haninah read the words "the judgment is God's" in to teach that God views the action of wicked judges unjustly taking money away from one and giving it to another as an imposition upon God, putting God to the trouble of returning the value to the rightful owner. (Rashi interpreted that it was as though the judge had taken the money from God.) Rabbi Haninah (or some say Rabbi Josiah) taught that Moses was punished for his arrogance when he told the judges in